The chief weapon of Dajjal (The great deceiver) will be lies, misinformation and deceit. The real challenge of the information age is to be truthful.
Many of us can relate to receiving messages from well-meaning family members or friends with dubious content or that are unverified. Many of us are also guilty of forwarding such information with 'good intentions', only to find out later that the information was false and potentially disruptive.
At times, Shaytan misguides people by engaging them in a 'cause' they assume to be noble but in reality causes tremendous harm by peddling false information about families, scholars, organisations and their representatives. This entails cynism,
disrespect, untruths, assumptions and false information – all in the name of 'truth'.
The Noble Qur'an condemns spreading information without verification.
Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, “Deliberation and forethought should go into everything except for deeds pertaining to the Hereafter.” (Abu Dawud)
Another Hadith states: “Deliberation is from Allah and haste is from Shaytan.” (Tirmizi)
May Allah Ta'ala help us to guard what we say and protect us from spreading information that is harmful.